The National Freedom of Information summit agenda includes multiple sessions on efforts to build transparency in government.

Sessions on state-level research, how to build sustainable citizen coalitions, and FOI litigation will take place at the NFOIC summit on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13-14 in Nashville at the John Seigenthaler Center at Vanderbilt University.

Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, is the keynote speaker for the Saturday luncheon, which is sponsored by the Charles Koch Institute.

Tennessee Coalition for Open Government is a member of NFOIC and the local host.

Here’s the lineup:

FRIDAY

1:15 pm – 2:00 pm – Knight Forecasting Freedom of Information Report – Why it faces problems- and how experts say they could be solved
Update on the March 2017 report commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to gain a better understanding of the state of public access to government records and to identify barriers to access and solutions
Presenter:
David Cuillier,Report author; University of Arizona associate professor; NFOIC board member

2:00pm – 2:30 pm– AP SunshineHub overview and demo
The AP is working on a collaboration platform dedicated to government transparency issues. SunshineHub is a web site that enables users to track transparency-related legislation from all 50 states and discuss transparency-related issues with journalists and freedom of information advocates from across the country.
Presenters:
Tom Verdin, National enterprise Editor/State Government, Associated Press
Troy Thibodeaux, Data Science & News Applications Editor, Associated Press

2:45 pm – 4:00 pm – Tech Solutions for Tech Problems
Managing electronic public records in today’s digital transformation tests the resources of most agencies. Could more technology be the solution? Hear from IT companies whose solutions are helping public record stewardship in the digital age.
Moderator: Michael Morisy, Co-Founder, MuckRock, and NFOIC board member
Presenters:
Jay Grewe, Business Development Executive, Smarsh
Tamara Manik-Perlman, Co-founder & CEO, NextRequest

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Reception
Hosted by the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government and sponsored by The Tennessean and Adams & Reese LLP. Location: Adams and Reese LLP, 424 Church Street, Suite 2800 (Note: A shuttle will provide transportation to/from the reception. Those planning to remain downtown for the evening will need to secure return transportation.)

10:30 am – 11:45 pm – State-level research
Discussion of recent public records research by state coalitions, including an analysis of Ohio Supreme Court public records decisions, examination of state laws regarding access to text messages, and New Mexico’s recent open records compliance audit. Learn how they did it, lessons learned, and outcomes.
Moderator: Deborah Fisher, Executive Director, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government
Panelists:
Dennis Hetzel, President and Executive Director, Ohio News Media Associatio
Jim McLaughlin, Deputy General Counsel of the Washington Post, D.C Open Government Coalition
Peter St. Cyr, Executive Director, New Mexico Foundation for Open Government